Electric-socket cover and shade-holder.



G. A. SPURWAY.

ELECTRIC SOCKET COVER AND SHADE HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG-I4, 1914.

Patented Apr. 13,1915.

WITNESSES.

6 M I 74 BY /lv ATTORNEY iU FE...

GEORGE A. SPUBVVAY, 0F WATERIBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 STEELE AND JOHNSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF WATEEBURY, CONNECTICUT, A. CORPO- iea'rion or comraoric'or.

ELECTRIC-SUCKEI COVER AND SHADE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915..

Application filed August 14, 1914-. Serial No. 856,818.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. SPURWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waterbury, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Electric-Socket Covers and Shade- Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a two-member cover for electric sockets that will also serve as a shade-holder, the essential features being that the cap may remain permanently in place, gripped between the socket and the fixture, that the shell with a shade attached thereto may be readily removed and replaced without disturbing either the shade or the socket and that said parts will remain securely in place until intentionally removed.

With these and other objects in view I have devised the novel structure which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a view of my novel socket cover and shade holder with the shell in elevation, and the cap in section; Fig. 2 a plan view of the shell detached, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

My novel socket cover and shade holder comprises simply a cap 10 and a shell 11, both parts being made of sheet metal and of any preferred ornamental design or configuration. The cap is provided with a central hole 12 through which the threaded shank of the fixture (not shown) passes. in attaching, the shank of the fixture is passed through the cap and the cap is locked thereto by turning the socket to place in the usual manner, the wall of the cap surrounding the hole being gripped between the top of the socket and the usual flange on the fixture. The lower edge of the cap is provided on its inner side with a relatively large rounded retaining rib 13 which is formed by curving the metal of the cap inward and upward a substantial distance, the upturned edge being shown as curving outward to abut against the inner side of the cap. The shell may be made in one piece or two, as preferred, depending of course upon the configuration imparted to it and may or may not be provided with a key slot 21, as may be required. I have shown the shell as made in two parts secured together by turning the metal of one part over the other. This however is wholly immaterial so far as the principle of the invention is concerned, it being merely necessary to provide a shoulder 22 for the curved rib of the cap to bear against. The lower end of the shell is provided with the usual recess 14 to receive the attaching flange of a shade (not shown) which may be attached to the shell by set screws 15 or in any ordinary or preferred manner. The upper end of the shell consists of a slotted spring retaining flange 16 which is provided with a circular groove 17, above said groove with a rounded circular retaining projection 18, of greater diameter than the retaining rib 13 of the cap, and above the retaining projection with an inwardly extending convex curved edge 19, the slots 20 extending through the edge, the retaining projection and the grooves so as to give ample resilience to the member in attaching it to or detaching it from the cap. When assembled, the inner curve of the upturned edge of the retaining rib 13 of the cap will engage the retaining projection 18 of the base on its rounded surface at a point between its greatest diameter and the groove 17. This engagement of the cap and base on the rounded surface will force the lower edge of the cap tightly against the shoulder 22 of the base and maintain a rigid connection not affected by jars or vibration.

Tn attaching, the cap being already secured in place, and the shade, if used, secured to the holder, the upper end of the shell is simply passed into the cap and.

pushed to place. The convex curved inwardly extending edge will be sprung inward by the retaining rib of the cap, until the greatest diameter of the retaining projection has passed the rib, when the retaining flange will spring back to place, leaving the retaining rib seated on the rounded surface above the circular groove. This leaves the shell with it the shade holder firmly secured to the cap but capable of rotation by the application of little force. To detach the shell from the cap, it is preferably rotated slightly and suificient downward pull exerted upon it to cause the retaining rib to attached together in any position and that 7 locking lugs are dispensed with.

force the retaining projection inward until it has-passed the rib, ,3 g r y g It will be 'noted'thatthe nieinbers may be Having thus described my invention I claim:

A separable socket cover and shadeholder comprising a shell provided with a shoulder and a slotted spring retaining flange; said I; fiangehaving a circular groove above the shoulder, a rou nded cii'dular retaining pro potion above the groove, and a cap havlng I G'b'pies o'f t hi s patent 'lilayhe obtained'for five eerfts each by: addressing the Washington, D'. 0'.

a central hole tor'eceivea fixture and at its Commissioner of Patents, 

